Tales From The Laboratory
by Astorinx
Summary: A collection of one-shots surrounding the relationship between Astro and Reno
1. Swooning Over Astro

Tales From The Laboratory: A retro fic compilation

 _ **Authors note:**_ _The stories in this fic are only meant to be one-shots and do not connect in any way, shape, or form. some stories also might take place in an AU, which in such case it'll be mentioned; but in general, most characters (Astro and Reno especially) in these stories are aged up to be teenagers. Astro also in every chapter uses they/them pronouns, thanks for reading! ~Emily_

 **Swooning Over Astro**

 _Synopsis: Astro and Reno get invited to a dinner party and the two can't stop falling for each other [AU where Astro and Reno work together]_

After spending the past three days out camping, the two had finally returned home. But to their surprise, they saw something tacked onto the door of the lab when they peered out from the elevator.

Reno took the paper off when he got to the door and read it.

"Oh." He exclaimed.

"What is it? Something up?" Astro asked.

"No." Reno folded the paper up, "There's another dinner party tomorrow— we're invited." He smiled.

"Oh! That's nice." Astro said as Reno opened the lab door so they both could go inside.

Astro quickly plopped down onto the couch with a sigh of relief.

"You're tired already?" Reno jokingly asked them.

"A little." They shrugged.

"I could pull the couch out if you'd like?" Reno offered.

"No no it's fine," Astro lied down, "This is nice anyway…"

"Suit yourself." Reno shrugged.

…

The next night, Reno was in the bathroom busy checking himself out in the mirror as both Astro and him were getting ready to leave for the dinner party.

Astro came in not too long after.

"Oh! Someone looks nice." Astro smirked.

"You know it!" Reno exclaimed, "Really compliments my form," He finger gunned at himself in the mirror.

Astro chuckled, walking in further to get a look at themselves in the mirror as well.

"Hey, you're looking good too, 1200 ants!"

Astro blushed, only to be swept up by Reno and swarmed with kisses.

They couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably in response before being let back down onto the ground again.

They both subsequently left the bathroom and headed out the door

…

The dinner party.

The place was nicely decorated with each table in the center of the room having a cream colored tablecloth and an ornate centerpiece.

Around the perimeter there were long tables with plates upon plates of food, most likely insinuating the dinner was being served buffet style.

The front of the room had a stage with a single mic stand on top, no one was there yet to speak, though.

When Astro and Reno got there, there was a considerable amount of people already present and conversing with one another.

Reno motioned to Astro who then followed him to a table.

"I'm surprised the professor hasn't shown up ye—"

Suddenly Astro could hear footsteps from across the room.

Looking over, he, sure enough, found the professor heading up the steps to the stage where he made it to the microphone.

"Testing… testing… one two…" O'shay tapped on the mic.

"It's working?" He asked.

After getting an okay signal, he left the stage and headed to one of the tables.

"Professor!" Astro called out.

"Astro!" O'shay exclaimed, walking over to Astro and Reno's table.

"For a second I thought you hadn't shown up yet— guess I was wrong." Astro joked.

"Oh no— I was busy setting this whole thing up, you two look very nice."

"Nice? Whatever happened to handsome?" Reno awkwardly chuckled.

O'shay cleared his throat, "Um, yes— well, I have to keep setting things up so I'll stop by again later." He walked away.

"You—you okay?" Astro asked.

"Uh yeah, why?" Reno looked over at them.

"I'm just a little worrisome over you."

"It's fine." Reno smiled, "He just hasn't gotten it yet, you know?"

"You sure?"

"Yes yes, I'm sure." Reno sipped a cup of water.

"Oh well, that's— great."

"Trust me, the only validation I'm looking for is from you, and you've already given it to me."

Astro blushed.

Reno scooted over and pressed his forehead up against Astro's.

He could hear Astro sigh with delight and saw them crack a smile as they pulled away.

"Better?" He asked.

"Yeah," Astro replied.

…

"So how's the workload?" Someone sitting at the table asked Astro.

"It's not bad." They shrugged.

"I'm sure Reno gives you lots of things to do, hmm?"

"Oh! We work together on everything— it's easier that way." Reno interjected.

"Together you say? Hmmm… perhaps that would be a better way to do things with my new intern— he's beyond annoying with his god-awful puns, but maybe working together will teach him to shut up."

Astro tried not to laugh, "Well, It's all about good collaboration, Reno and I are already dating— so it's obvious we'd have a good chemistry and workflow going."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it? Like, tell him the only way things can productively work is if you establish good collaboration." Reno suggested.

"Oh I doubt it," the man pushed up his glasses and then sighed, "It's hopeless."

"Why do they even let college kids intern here?! That's by far the stupidest idea since chopped up fish!" He looked at Astro and Reno as if he was slowly losing his sanity.

"Hey, at least you can make sushi with it— which taste pretty good." Astro commented, "And besides— you never know until you try?"

The man sighed "Perhaps so…"

Reno got up from his chair, "I'm gonna go get more water, you want?"

"Ummm…" Astro looked at his cup, "Nah, I'm good."

"Suit yourself." Reno shrugged, grabbing his cup and walking away.

Astro sighed as they watched Reno walk away, "You ever meet a man that leaves you speechless without a fail?" They asked.

"…Maybe…"

"Well, you should do something about that!" Astro chuckled, "Who knows? Maybe it'll be more rewarding than you think."

…

Reno made his way to one of the long tables and picked up a pitcher of water.

"Hey, Reno." A feminine voice greeted.

Reno looked up, "Yuko! I didn't notice you were there." He chuckled.

"Well I figured perhaps maybe a little party would prevent the professor and I from going psycho– how's you and Astro?"

"Doing pretty great, actually."

Yuko snickered with a wheeze, "Tha–that's very good," She cleared her throat, "Well…"

Reno looked at her, confused.

"Ummm… I'm glad it's uh– worked out for you! You would not believe the effort it takes to get O'shay to do anything, how do you and Astro do it?"

"Oh! Well, it's just really good collaboration."

"Really? I have a hard time believing that." Yuko put her hands on her hips with a raised eyebrow.

"No no– it's true! Astro and I get along really great, so it's easy to collaborate well."

"I see…" She slowly nodded.

"It takes time, but…" Reno looked behind him to see Astro still at the table, talking.

His cheeks went red.

"It… it… it's worth it." He smiled.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." Yuko headed off with a smile.

Reno let out a sigh, putting the pitcher of water down and heading back to the table.

"And then last week another robot came in fo– Hey Reno!" Astro greeted.

"Hey." Reno sat down.

"I was talking about the robot that came in last week for stimuli issues." Astro began.

"Oh yeah, they came in all out of whack, they weren't able to properly sensor things so we spent the whole work day trying to re-calibrate them." Reno elaborated.

"Well to save time, you could've–"

Suddenly they heard the sound of a spoon being tapped against a glass, they all instinctively looked to see where it came from.

"Um… good evening, everyone." O'shay began, he stood in front of the mic stand on stage.

"It is with my pleasure to thank everyone who has come to the dinner party—"

Everyone in the room broke out into a cheer.

Reno raised his glass of water and then brought it up to his mouth so he could take a sip.

"…It took a lot of planning from decorations to picking the food and setting up, but the robotics department and I hope you enjoy and have a great night." The professor waved and walked off the stage.

Everyone yet again erupted into cheer.

Reno looked down at his phone and saw what time it was.

"Oh! It's getting a bit late, we should probably get going?" He looked over at Astro.

"Uh… yeah yeah– It's fine."

"Leaving so soon?" The man asked

"Yeah, we have tons of things to work on tomorrow and Tuesday, so we need as much sleep as we can get."

"Hmmm well, um… I hope to see you two around sometime." He replied with a smile.

"Yeah yeah— you were really great to talk to this whole night, from a young person standpoint that is." Reno chuckled.

They all said their goodbyes before Astro and Reno left to go back to their lab.

…

Reno opened the door to the lab and waited for Astro to come up the stairs.

"Did all that eating slow you down?" He joked.

"No…" Astro sighed, "I just wasn't walking as fast as I normally do." They shrugged, walking into the lab.

Reno walked in as well and closed the door behind himself.

"You gonna go shower?" Astro asked as they plopped down onto the couch.

"Yeah, why?" Reno turned around.

"Nothing, just wondering." Astro picked up a nearby book.

"Oh." Reno shrugged before turning back around to walk into the bathroom.

He came back a while later to Astro attempting to pull the couch out, they had already changed into pajamas and the book they read earlier was now on the desk.

"You need help?" Reno asked, rubbing his hair.

"No no, I got it." Astro finally pulled it out.

Reno chuckled, "I'll go get the sheets.

…

They both finally got in bed not too long after setting the whole thing up.

Astro leaned back and let out a sigh of relief.

Reno looked over at them,

"Hey. Um…" he stuttered.

"Hmm?" Astro opened an eye.

"It… it was nice— today, um…"

"Yeah," Astro chuckled, "But…" they sighed.

It went to silence for a moment.

"It almost… didn't quite feel right… it was like— I was caught in a tunnel vision?"

"I was caught in a tunnel vision— severely," Reno replied, scooting closer to Astro and resting his head on their shoulder.

Astro kissed the top of his head, "I wouldn't blame that on me." They snickered.

Reno looked up, "Oh come on, give yourself some credit!"

"Mmmmm… no." They smiled.

"Pleaseeeeee— I mean, really, you looked nice today— I mean not that you don't look nice any other day." He urged, then continued, "But I mean… looks aren't everything. I just…"

"I feel like it's getting increasingly harder to tell you how much I love you."

Astro looked confused, "What do you mean? Reno…" they sighed.

"I already know you love me, and more importantly, how much."

Reno looked over at them, "And you me–"

"I mean everything I say– honest."

"God I could swoon over you all day."

"But you already do." Astro looked over at him and chuckled, shimming over so Reno and them could meet without one being taller than the other. ((Reno's taller than Astro BTW ~Emily))

Reno looked at them and sighed with rosy red cheeks.

"I guess…"

Astro reached over and rubbed Reno's cheek with their thumb.

"Don't worry Reno, you pull your weight."

Reno looked at them and smiled.

"I'd still swoon over you anyways."

xx


	2. Humorous Confession

**Humerous Confession**

 _Synopsis: Astro has something to say. [Astro can drive in this fic]_

Driving along the highway late into the night, they were heading over to visit Reno at his laboratory, which also served as a place for him to live.

They dialed his number on their phone, slowly waiting for him to pick up.

"Mmmuh– Reno speaking!" He greeted

"Reno!" They replied.

"Astro?"

"Hey, um… I'm on my way to your place, alright?"

"Oh– sure! Any reason, or…?"

"Ummm… I'll explain when I get there," They turned to get off at a nearby exit.

"Ohhhhkie dokie, I'll uh… leave the door unlocked."

Astro could hear the sound of something being picked up, then followed by the sound of slurping.

"Reno… are you eating ramen?" They asked with a hint of silliness and a giggle.

"… maybe… "

They almost snicked, "Oh, 'cause I heard this slurping sound and I was like 'what on earth is this boy doing?' and then it dawned on me– ramen," They burst into a laughter.

"I'm lucky I'm at a stoplight, otherwise this laughing would've put me in a car wreck."

…

A drive around later, and they were at the Ministry, knocking on Reno's door in hopes to be let in.

"It's open!"

They slowly twisted the doorknob and walked inside, finding Reno casually on the floor surrounded by noodle packets and _Valentina™_ Hot Sauce.

"I leave for one week, and this is how you live?" They looked down at him in sarcastic disappointment.

"I like spicy ramen, what can I say," he shrugged.

"Okay but… you couldn't be bothered to clean up after yourself? Sheesh."

"Well geez, love you too, 1200 ants."

Astro outwardly laughed as they sat down in Reno's office chair, "I'm only playing– but I love you too, obviously."

He slowly got up from the ground and sat on the couch.

"So uhh, whatcha' come here to talk about?"

"Oh… umm… I can't remember– I was too busy thinking about ramen, hmmm…"

"Well, it's nice having you over anyways; How's school?"

"It's… coming along… a lot of work though to be honest."

"Huh, interesting… I've been busy doing research for a project I'm heading– think it has to do with dynamics of some sort…?"

"Wow, you don't even fully know the project you're _heading_?"

"Hey… It's been rough, cut me slack."

"Well, I would if I wasn't so salty about– ah ha! I remember what I wanted to talk about!"

"Those people on their _fucking_ bikes!"

"You came all the way here… to complain about cyclists?"

"Yes! They're so annoying! Plus I missed you– but those bike people…"

Reno sighed with a smile, shaking their head, "You are so dumb…"

"Not possible, Savage– You see, when those… _people_ … ride in the middle of the road, I don't feel like driving anymore…"

"Then don't, who says you gotta? O'shay? Nah man– fuck him, take the Metro Mover for crying out loud!"

"Well geez, you don't seem so enthused."

"Well, 'cause it's dumb! That's like first world problems 101!"

"Okay…" Astro shifted in their seat, "You… have a point… But I gotta tell someone about it!"

"And you just did, congrats."

They sighed and stood up, "You are so salty… _so_ salty!"

Reno scooted over to accommodate for Astro who wished to sit next to him.

"I… I'm just really tired, sorry…" he put an arm around their shoulder.

"I know, I know. No hard feelings," they smiled.

It went to silence for a moment before Astro spoke.

"They finally opened up that new Mexican restaurant downtown, ever plan on going?"

"Hmmmm, maybe– not by myself, though," Reno answered.

"I'd go… but only on the weekend."

"Oh, I can't do weekends, at least not when this project is in full swing."

"Not even for like… a lunch break?"

"No… sorry…"

"Wow, you're no fun," They chuckled.

"Oh, and like you're the life of the party, huh?" He glanced at them with a smirk.

"I'd think so, yeah," they nodded.

Reno laughed, pulling Astro closer to himself, "You are like… the biggest goof ever– you know that? Just straight up utter _dork_!"

"Actually you're wrong for one reason and one reason only," they held a finger up.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"I'm not straight."

((This was so terrible, but too humorous to not post– apologies in advance if you cringed))

xx


	3. And Then It Played Out Like a Short Film

**And Then It Played Out Like a Short Film**

 _Synopsis: Reno comes over to visit Astro._

With a knock on the door, Astro was already halfway down the stairs with eager anticipation eating them alive, but thankfully they were able to pull themselves together just in time to answer.

"Reno!" They greeted.

"Hey!" He smiled.

"You uh… coming inside?"

"I don't see why not…?"

Maybe that was a stupid question to ask, but it didn't matter anyway as they were more concerned with catching up to Reno who was now inching ever so closer to their room.

They watched him go inside as they got up to the final step, glancing back for just a moment to make sure they didn't forget to lock the front door.

When they walked into their room, they saw Reno on their bed with presumably their instant camera fumbling in his hands as he tried to figure out how to use it.

"The buttons in the front," they said.

"Oh!" Reno almost fell back after coming to the realization and abruptly hitting the button to take a photo.

A small picture soon came out of the camera and gently fell on top of the bed before Astro walked over and picked it up.

"Nice photo of the ceiling," They joked.

Reno almost laughed, but instead, he scooted back and tried to position himself to get a photo of Astro.

"I actually got that camera a few weeks ago– on my birthday, in fact, from Alejo…"

"Oh really? That's nice…"

"I really like it– it's so small, plus the pictures make for great decoration."

They could suddenly hear the sound of another photo being taken.

"Okay… what are you trying to take a picture of this time?" They walked over to Reno and sat down beside him on their bed.

He reached over, grabbed the newly taken photo, and passed it to them.

"Oh," They seemed surprised to see it was themselves.

"I really like how it captured your look midway speaking," he pointed to the look Astro had in the photo.

They chuckled, "I think also the unawareness really lends itself to the overall aesthetic…"

For a moment, the two of them continued to admire the picture with Astro slowly leaning their head on Reno's shoulder for the time being.

They soon reached over for the camera and managed to inch away just a little to take a photo of him.

"I think this one captures your stillness…"

"Mmm?"

"This one."

"Oh, yeah… it does…"

"I've been taking photos with this for about a week or so now, so I'm pretty good at getting a decent photo."

Reno looked over at them with a smile, "I can see the dedication…"

"Oh, well I'm not putting in _that_ much time, you see… It's just a bit of trial an error, like look– if I move over… to the front of you… maybe… stand up a little, errr… uhhh… hope I don't fall…"

"And then you can just… do whatever– I don't mind… and then… we got a photo!"

They sat back down and waited for the picture to print.

"Well that was fast," Reno replied

"Yeah, it's not as long as you think, especially if there's no planning going on, just you know… making it up as you go…"

"Now _this_ looks nice," He reached over and looked at the photo.

"Oh really? Lemme see…" Astro tried to peer over to get a look.

"You know what it reminds me of… it makes me think of like… some edgy indie album cover, hahaha– don't you think?" They commented.

"Oh yeah… probably have to photoshop in some dark circles and weird tattoos, but it's practically there."

"I could honestly take more, but I don't wanna run through the film just yet, films really expensive…"

"Mmmm, well, at least we got some good photos, huh?" Reno put the picture down and leaned into Astro.

"You're telling me– you make a great subject, especially with your obvious unkemptness…"

"Hey, at least I'm consistent."

"I know. It just– I dunno, adds a sense of rawness, I suppose?"

Reno slowly brought his hand to Astro's, "I… guess…"

They reached over and ran their fingers through his hair to try and fix it.

"I don't even think you brush this, do you?"

He looked at them in slight shame.

They broke into a laugh, "Oh Reno… what would I do without you?"

"I dunno…"

"I dunno either, but… I think I'd like to keep it that way, hmm?"

A few moments of silence ensued as Astro finished combing Reno's hair and bringing their hand down for just a moment to figure out what to do next.

"You know it's just going to get messy again later, right?"

"Well then I'll just fix it up again, I got time…"

He almost wanted to chuckle, but instead, he found himself looking at Astro with a newfound sense and need to pull them in closer.

They pulled their other hand away to put both of them on his shoulders, "But all of this is beside the fact, the main thing I wanted to get across is how well of a photographic subject you are, but even that is separate from the fact that I refuse to use up all my film just yet, so I think I'm gonna set the camera aside for now…"

He watched them soon redirect their view back to himself and put their arms around his neck.

"Don't tell me… are you disassociating?"

"Hu–wha?"

"Oh… It's just– you didn't respond, so I thought you spaced out."

"No no, I'm fine…"

"You sure?"

"Mmmhmm."

Astro knew they had to take his word for the time being or else things could potentially get tense.

"Well, if you say so, not gonna argue with you on that," they chuckled.

"I wouldn't wanna argue with you either, too much work," Reno leaned forward to have his face inches away from Astro's as he spoke with sarcasm.

Astro almost didn't know what to do, until they got the idea to bring their arms down to his waist and rest their head beside the crook of his neck.

"It's also just… tiring to think about," they yawned.

"You're telling me…"

"I am."

Reno looked down at them and sighed with an eye roll and a chortle, putting his arms around them as well.

"You are beyond silly sometimes, you know that?"

"Well, you're always calling me out on things that I am, so yeah."

"Okay, but–"

"Sssh ssh ssh, let's just admire the silence, okay? No more talking."

It was obvious that he agreed because there was nothing more spoken after that, the two basking in the quietness while holding onto each other and looking around the room.

Astro could look up and see something was on Reno's mind, and while they weren't sure what exactly it was, they reached over anyways and grabbed his hand for comfort.

Reno was a bit confused, but maybe Astro had mistaken his lostness in thought as something to worry over; regardless, he didn't seem to mind the notion all that much.

He soon discovered himself mindlessly scratching their back for the time being as the silence became more of a norm.

"S–sorry to break the silence…" Astro spoke in a soft voice, "But… you know I always ask for consent before we kiss…"

"Oh! Of course, It's fine…" Reno replied back in the same tone.

They happily smiled as they sat up and leaned in to kiss him.

Finally, it felt like all the steam had cooled off and he finally had an understanding of what exactly was making him feel so weird.

Despite all of that, though, he nevertheless found himself surrounded by enjoyment as he leaned in to make it easier for Astro; he wasn't ready to pull away just yet, but he did soon grow tired and eventually trailed off, barely being able to reach their lips anymore.

Thankfully, they managed to take notice and thus brought their hand to hold his face up just long enough to finish and pull away.

"It seems like you always get tired whenever you come over…?"

"Mmmmm yeah, work… makes me tired."

"Oh, sorry…"

"No no, it's not your fault, I just barely get sleep."

"Well, you're welcome to take a nap if you want? I have to go reorganize my bookshelf," Astro pointed to the bookshelf in the corner.

"You know what? I… think I might… take you up… on that offer…" Reno replied.

They almost chuckled, "I'll leave it to you then?"

"Yeah…"

Astro slowly got up from their bed and left Reno alone to sleep as they walked over and began taking books off of the shelf, placing them on their desk for the time being before they'd have to put them away once they start reorganizing.

xx


	4. Going Further Away

_**Authors note:**_ _This one-shot is an AU where Astro and Reno have decided to run away in fear of facing homophobia and/or transphobia should either their relationship or the fact that either of them is trans (because yes nonbinary people are trans, thank you) be found out. I'm not sure if I wanna continue this, but if I do, I may take this chapter down and re-upload it as a separate fic, just FYI. Thanks for reading!_

Out amongst the trees under the vibrant blue sky and burning hot sun, there was silence.

The trees moved not an inch while the grass remained still.

All of this though, was before there were sounds of chirping birds with an incoming breeze finally able to move the trees for just a moment.

It had been a few weeks since Astro and Reno left.

It started back in December of the year before when Christmas was coming around, and Astro had met Reno in his lab with talks of leaving Metro City for good.

At first, he was hesitant, but after being made aware of the dangers that could arise should others find out about their relationship, he quickly changed his mind and was with all hands on deck, eager to plan a way to escape.

For now, many months later, they were in a forest, though their goal is to be somewhere they found to be called _Lennox Hills._

The two of them were lying around on the ground, with Reno slowly opening his eyes to see the blazing sun pierce them, which quickly alerted him to sit up.

In a panic, he looked around to see where Astro was.

And to his left, there they were.

Lying with their face in the dirt, he suddenly remembered what had happened the day before.

Astro had tried to climb up a tree to see how much more the two would have to walk to finally be out and reach the next city.

But, they didn't wanna fly up and see, that, of course, would bring unwanted attention and, pose a great risk in general.

And so off they went, up each tree branch, trying to be careful and not fall.

However, ironically, when they made it to the final branch, it snapped in half and down towards the ground Astro went.

Thankfully Reno saw them and caught them in just enough time, but after that, it was apparent they were too spooked to try again on another tree.

In fact, after that would've been fall, they decided to call it a day and go to bed.

And Reno didn't blame them, so he decided to take it upon himself and look.

Surprisingly, they both actually weren't that far away.

Perhaps another week of slowly moving and they'd both be finally out, and from there it'd be the constant motel hopping with trips to the local fast food joint sprinkled in.

It seemed to him that it was the afternoon, but to be sure, he brought out his watch and gave it a quick glance, and sure enough, it was 1:17.

He let out a sigh and leaned back, resting his head on a tree before looking over at Astro again.

He was surprised they actually found a way to dye their hair.

It was a pastel shade of pink, and he couldn't help but look at it in awe for the time being.

"We uh... should really get going..." He said, gazing up at the sky for just a moment.

"A—Astro...?" He walked over to them and shook their shoulder.

"1200 Ants, we gotta get moving. We're almost out."

With confused eyes, Astro slowly woke up to seeing Reno towered over them.

"R—reno? You okay?" They replied.

"We need to get going."

"Oh. Um. Alright... gimme a sec."

Reno nodded and walked away to let Astro stand up and stretch to wake themselves up.

"Can't believe I fell out of that thing," they looked up at the tree from yesterday.

"Haha. You took quite a fall too, in fact, if I didn't catch you, you probably would've gotten your head stuck in the dirt."

Astro looked back at Reno, almost laughing, "at least I had a good snooze."

…

A good hour was spent walking towards a new location, inching them ever so closer to the next city nearby.

"Oh no, this is meant to stay, though I can re-bleach it and try a different color out."

"Huh. Interesting."

"I'm surprised you didn't follow suit, you don't think anyone's gonna recognize you?"

"Mmm no, I just... I think maybe I'm just too lazy," Reno adjusted the strap on his bag to be more towards his neck instead of resting on the edge of his shoulder.

Astro stopped in their tracks and turned around to face him.

"Well, if you're not gonna change anything, then at least fix your hair," they waited for Reno to walk towards them before they reached over, ran their fingers through his hair and sighed.

"You always leave your hair a mess, but congratulations, it's actually come in handy," they looked at him sarcastically before pulling their hands away and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Reno facetiously rolled his eyes in response "Gosh Astro, you really are something..."

"And what? You're not?" They raised an eyebrow.

"Hgnnn, you're lucky you're attractive." He jokingly mocked

"Hey, you take that back, Savage!" They pointed a finger.

The two erupted into laughter, trying to keep their walking pace up, since they weren't _exactly_ where they needed to be just yet.

"How far do we have to go? I feel like we've been walking forever..."

"Ehhhhhh, not too far... I'd say maybe in about... a hundred... something...steps..."

Astro sighed, "can we at least take a break, I think my legs are giving out..." they staggered behind Reno.

He turned around, "you want me to carry you?"

"Oh no no, I couldn't possibly ask that of you..."

"No, it's fine, really! You can just rest your arms on my shoulders."

They gave it some thought and thus ultimately decided to oblige.

Finally catching up to Reno, Astro let him get into position so they could get up and piggyback ride him, giving their legs a well-deserved break.

"You okay up there?" He asked.

"Mmmmhmmm..." was all Astro could respond with, as for some reason they felt being held by Reno in such a way meant it was the perfect opportunity to have a quick nap.

He shook his head with a chuckle and continued his trek to where they needed to be.

…

"And you couldn't find _anything_?!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but—"

"But what?! Astro is _missing_. He and Reno have both been gone for a whole _month_! If you can't find him I'll..."

O'shay was in Tawashi's office, obviously unhappy over the state of his investigation to look for Astro.

"I'll look for him myself! With my own team, even if it kills me!"

"Doctor, while I understand your concerns quite a lot, you're failing to realize we have many other problems to deal with, we can't devote all of our time to something like this..."

O'shay sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair in udder defeat.

"I just don't know why'd such a thing happen?"

"I'm not so sure either, there's little to no evidence provided, and we've interrogated all suspects and whiteness, nothing."

"That is very strange, but what's also weird is—"

"Reno quit his job at the Ministry of Science?"

"Yes! And then they both left..."

Tawashi sighed, "I dunno Doctor; I'm not here to jump to conclusions, but maybe they decided to leave to go date each other, just an educated guess."

"Oh heavens no, that couldn't possibly be it— I mean you saw him... around... Brianna..."

"Well, you know how the kids are these days, it's all about 'bisexual' and 'absorbgender' —I don't understand this shit, honestly. It's all bogus."

"I'd hope you're right, I don't know what I'd do if he came to me with something like that..."

All Tawashi could do was flip a page in the case file he was reviewing as a response, as he was unable to think of anything to say.

…

"You know... looking back, it was actually more difficult than I thought to deal with being misgendered. It was like... I wanted to correct them, but... I _couldn't_ , so I would just lowkeyseethe, but like highkey be sad because dysphoria is a frickin' bitch," Astro looked over at Reno.

"Oh really? That sucks bud, I'm sorry..." he put an arm around them out of sympathy.

The two of them had finally made it to where they needed to be and were having an evening chat on the ground by yet another tree.

The sun was starting to go down as the once vividly blue sky was now becoming hues of yellow, orange and, red.

The breeze was picking up more, and thus the sound of moving trees became louder with general animal noises creeping in.

Astro let out a sigh, reflecting for a moment on everything that's happened so far.

Slowly their past memories brought upon anxiety, something Reno took quick notice of.

"Astro? You okay?"

"I... I just... I dunno— I'm scared."

"You wanna... talk about it..?"

Astro gave it some thought, then nodded.

"I... I'm worried... you know..."

"Hmm?"

"What if we get caught? What if we have to go back? I can't stand hearing my old pronouns, and I... I don't like having to deny I don't love you— because I do! And it just... I'm... anxious."

They started tapping their heels together to try and offset the stress, but it seemed to do them no good.

All they wanted to do was cry.

"Oh, Astro..." Reno slowly rubbed their back, "You are a fucking champ, you know that?"

"Hmmm?" They looked at him confusingly.

"I mean think about it— we've made it all this way! And who's idea was it to leave anyway? It wasn't me... and besides, _I'm_ here, and I'm going to protect us, because I love you too, okay?"

"Y—yeah..." they choked.

"It's okay, I'm right here, and no one else is..."

He gave Astro some space to cry in peace before intervening to comfort them.

" _Estarás bien, mi amor_. Ssh ssh ssh..." _["You'll be fine, my love."]_

A good cry later, and Astro was sitting beside Reno with their hand resting on top of his as they both looked up to the now black sky.

"The sky is just... so pretty," they commented.

"Eh, it's alright— I think the stars make it better, though."

"Mmmm, agree to disagree? Because I like both: stars and no stars."

Reno chuckled, "okay... agree to disagree."

He rested his head on top of Astro's and sighed, his eyes becoming much more tired.

"Guess all that walking has finally caught up to you, eh?" They snickered.

"I... guess so..." He yawned.

"Hmmm, tell you what. You go to bed, and I'll be lookout tonight, since I did all my sleeping during the day."

"You sure?"

"Mmmhmm! You look really tired, so I think it's only fair."

Reno thought it over and decided to agree, slowly transitioning into a sleeping position to call it a night.

"Goodnight," Astro smiled.

"Nnnnnnnight," Reno slowly closed his eyes.

They instinctively decided to gently run their fingers through his hair while still looking up at the sky.

They knew there was a lot more in store ahead for the two of them.

But were they ready to handle it?

 _Abso-fucking-lutely._


	5. Conversations at Night

((A re-upload of my one-shot: Conversations at Night))

Astro invited Reno to hang out around night time, bringing with them a small basket of foods and drinks to casually munch on while they picnicked together.

Reno had opted to drive over to Astro's house and pick them up since where they were headed wasn't so far away.

With a warm smile, Astro walked out the door and headed for his car, opening the passenger door and taking a seat in the car.

"You brought the stuff?" Reno asked.

"Mmmhmm!" Astro nodded, holding up the basket in their hand.

Reno nodded back and slowly pulled out of the driveway before heading off to where they were going.

The city at night was quite bright, but also chilly. Streetlights shined bright orange and with the windows down, they both could feel a draft coming through.

Highways with buildings and tall billboards slowly became rural areas with scattered houses, the only illumination now being the dispersed amount of stars in the sky.

It was a first for the both of them to go out at such a late time and to a place that obviously wasn't the typical Italian Garden™ (a popular place they enjoy eating at). They were both excited though, eagerly agreeing over the phone just a few hours earlier when the idea of leaving was just a mere concept in Astro's head.

They couldn't help but look out the window with a smile, but also a slight chill from the breeze.

Reno told himself if he ever got in front of the wheel, he would make it a point to keep his eyes on the road, no matter what. But, with no one in front or behind him, a quick gaze over at Astro wouldn't hurt, right?

…

No legit parking lot meant anywhere and everywhere was free game to park, so Reno pulled into the field and stopped not too long after, turning his car off and exiting the vehicle.

Astro followed suit and tried to catch up to him, still clinging onto the basket they brought.

"I think this is decent," Reno motioned to Astro to have them bring the basket over to him.

They finally caught up and handed the basket to him, he opened it up and pulled out the blanket that he was sure they would bring.

After setting up, they both sat down together. Reno had his arm draped around Astro's shoulder as they were nibbling on pieces of cheese.

"You want?" They offered.

"Sure." He opened his mouth to allow them to just throw the cheese in. He managed to catch it, and thus quickly shut his mouth and began chewing.

Astro chuckled and as they decided against eating another piece, they looked up at the sky.

They could see how dark it was and the little number of stars that were out, it was only the two of them there which made the experience all the more intimate.

But suddenly, this nagging figurative bug crept upon them, and a desire to speak on something they had kept hidden for a while was sparked.

Reno was lost in his own thoughts though, the more he chewed and eventually swallowed the cheese. He failed to even look over and see Astro contemplating about confessing.

"R–Reno…" Astro looked down.

Reno didn't respond, but played a little with a button on his shirt.

They sighed, perhaps this wasn't an appropriate time to bring up their issues.

Except… the issue… revolved around them.

"Reno?" Astro pressed him a second time.

"Oh–what?" Reno seemed startled, but tried to keep his composure as he looked over at them.

"I… umm…"

They looked up at the sky again, getting lost in its vastness for a moment.

"The… the real reason why I wanted to come out here was… I have something… to talk about…" They continued.

Reno tilted his head in confusion, but welcomed the conversation anyways.

"I… I've been having these… dreams? Thoughts? I don't know the proper terminology– but… It's always around this idea that I have zero clues as to why I would come up with it! It's just… not like me…"

Suddenly, the investment was real and Astro's words became less casual.

"I keep thinking… what a world would be like… without you… or if I never… met you or-or… if I was with someone else– why would I want to be with someone else?! It–it–it makes no sense?! Or… a world where you just… didn't exist… Like why would I think that– I'm with you I thought… I didn't want it any other way..."

"So… why am I coming up with this? Am I trying to tell myself something? Do I not… want to... be with you anymore…?" They almost choked on the last few words.

"... And it's been keeping me up sometimes– I'm scared to say anything in fear of someone feeding into my anxiety, like I just want it to stop," tugging at Reno's shirt, it was obvious they were slipping into paranoia, as usual.

Reno looked away and gave some thought, "It's just… intrusive thinking…"

"Intrusive?"

"It's not real– well it is, but it's not– but it is. It's like… a stranger knocking at your door that you don't want to knock but is also making you fearful because they could potentially burn your entire house down because you won't answer."

"But… I don't want to answer– I don't even want them there in the first place!"

"And you have no control over that, but you can put your earphones on and tell yourself they won't burn your house down no matter how long you keep them waiting…" He finally looked over at Astro with a warm smile.

They sighed.

"Look, I know why you're thinking this– and it's completely okay, what's not okay is putting yourself down."

Astro was confused.

"You're thinking this because you don't think your good enough, or that I don't deserve you– so you put yourself into theoretical situations in which you are shown to not be enough or where I'm not there so you can't 'disappoint me'– but the truth is, you could never disappoint me and I really do think you are enough."

"It's really not healthy for you to put yourself down all the time– you have to have pride in yourself! You have to understand that you do in fact have worth, and that's not something to cast aside around other people. Your intrusive thoughts are allowing you to think you can't or don't love me because you don't love yourself."

They looked down for a moment before slowly nodding.

"You really are more than I could ever ask for, I mean you've been through everything with me! Even when I came out as trans, you made it a point to not let things get awkward like I assumed it would be and you know… as much as you helping me out has been great– I think you need to help yourself out," Reno reached over for Astro's hand.

"Do me that favor, okay? Please take care of yourself." He looked them in the eyes with a smile.

Their eyes almost watered as they agreed, slowly smiling with a sudden sniffle, "I–I… I really want to…"

"Then what's stopping you?! Trust me, I am 100% supportive of your journey– I'll be here! There's nothing to be afraid of when the only risk is delayed satisfaction."

"I mean I guess... It just… seems so daunting…"

"But, It doesn't have to be! There's no need to rush, it's not a race anyways– you take it one step at a time. Because I'm sure when you really build up your self-worth, those intrusive thoughts won't mean shit to you anymore, I promise."

Astro happily sighed, "Thanks… I really needed to hear that," they looked over at Reno with yet another smile.

He pulled them in closer and kissed their cheek, "Who would I be if I didn't support you, hmm? I love you too much to just let you slip deeper into anxiety…"

They softly chuckled, "That you do… and I appreciate that, I almost… take it for granted sometimes or just let it be a thought on the backburner but… it's times like these where my feelings are brought to the forefront… and I like it."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way… you uh… want to crack open the juice boxes?"

"Yeah."

xx


	6. Going Further Away II

**Authors note:** _This part 2 to a one-shot is an AU where Astro and Reno have decided to run away in fear of facing homophobia and/or transphobia should either their relationship or the fact that either of them is trans (because yes non-binary people are trans, thank you) be found out. The first part is in chapter 5, and I've decided instead of making a separate story, to just sprinkle in updates here and there, such as this second part. Thanks for reading!_

Astro's situated themselves on top the bed and, off to the side, Reno is counting change on the floor. The room is small, only having an outdated TV on a beaten up stand and a small table with chair right beside the A/C stuffed into the window.

Forest life was nice to a degree, but the two of them knew finally being inside in a closed environment was such a blissful relief, somewhat leaving them to believe they shouldn't take the situations they've been in for granted.

Because it could, obviously, be much worse.

The remote isn't too far away, so Astro reaches for it and with a few presses, has the local news playing on the TV. For now, it wasn't much of a bother– but eventually things got annoying when it seemed like story after story became nothing but robbery and murder investigations.

They decided it was best to just change the channel while it was on commercial and see what else was going on.

"Three bucks," Reno began.

"In just quarters?" Asked Astro, looking down from up top the bed.

"No..." He shoved a few coins aside, "We got some um... nickles... and like... two dimes."

"Huh..." They returned their view to the TV, "We should take advantage, like maybe go spend it at the dollar store?"

"Oh no– we're using this to do laundry..." Reno sat up and walked over to the other side of the bed before climbing onto it and lying beside Astro.

"Aw, Reno– you know laundry isn't that important– you need to eat!" They argued.

"Yeah yeah, but... I dunno... I feel kinda... gross... cycling through 3 different outfits over the course of what... going on a month now?"

Astro could see Reno had a point– all things considered. But... maybe... maybe they had this whole "human understanding" thing wrong; because last time they checked, food was a number one priority for humans. It didn't make sense why Reno would fork over food in exchange for clean clothes...

"Oh..." their voice trailed off as they felt whisked away into their own thoughts for just a moment.

Reno responded with a confused expression. Perhaps maybe Astro was having a minor malfunction, or they just really wanted him to eat– or even... a tactic to get out of helping him do laundry, he really hoped that was it.

He looks away from them and faces the TV. This channel seemed to be playing nonstop vintage shows of some sort, which... wasn't all that appealing, to say the least. He decided to take control of the remote and pick another channel.

Astro, in true Eminem fashion, snaps back to reality and sees Reno flipping through channels.

"There doesn't seem to be much..." They argue, "Motels just... never really invest in quality cable, huh?"

"You're telling me... but hey... don't you think they have umm..."

"... what...?"

"You know the... hold on..." Reno flips through more channels, this time at a much faster rate.

It seemed like everything was just whisking by on the TV, until it came to an abrupt stop.

"Movies," He spoke.

"Ohhhh," Astro leaned back, "Movies..." They glanced over at Reno before bursting into laughter.

He followed suit, and the both of them laughed together, almost to the point of crying before sighing in delight.

"Gosh, you wanna laugh... that's– that's how you do it..." They said.

Reno subsequently put an arm around Astro who had begun to scoot closer to him, nestling their head beside his chest.

"Do... you even know what this movie's called?"

"Not a clue..."

They looked up at him and chuckled, "You... you really are something, Savage– just... I don't... a goofball! You're a goofball! Hope you're happy with that title."

"I mean why wouldn't I be– I think it accurately describes me quite well..."

"What doesn't describe you is the real question, don't you think?"

"Hmmm... maybe... guess that would be what... asshole? Neat freak? Cis?"

"Uhhhh... not my... boy...friend?"

"Yeah, that works too."

The outside world, as seen through the dirty window, was starting to get dark as night was approaching. The room then evoked chilliness as coldness from open air seeped through the already set to "cold" A/C.

Astro, who wasn't ready to crawl under the covers just yet, clutched to Reno even more than before; letting his warmth soothe how frigid they felt from the icy air.

"A little chilly, huh?" Reno asked, now mindlessly scratching Astro's hip in a slow gentle manner.

"Mmmm, more like a lot– but sure..." They chuckled.

"I could get up and turn the A/C off if you want?"

"No no, it's fine... I uh... I don't mind... sitting beside you..."

"Oh uh... okay... you let me know if you change your mind though, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll... say something..." Astro slowly yawned.

A few minutes of silence goes by before Reno speaks.

"You know... I'm really glad we did this..."

"Hmmm?" Astro glanced at him.

"Run away. It's just... so exhilarating... weirdly enough, right?"

"Oh... yeah... it's ummm... it's scary..."

"But we've made it so far! I mean think about it— were not that far away from Lennox Hills!"

Astro sighs with a smile, "Mmmhmm... quite far to say the least..."

"And look, it might be just a little scary, but I promise you it'll be worth it in the end; And we'll be so much better off than we were before!"

Reno reaches for their hand and interlocks fingers before setting both now intertwined hands down in his lap. This prompts Astro to look at him with a loving smile as their shoulders became almost like pudding, losing all their pent-up tension and dropping to a more relaxed position.

"Reno... I... I wouldn't trade you for the world," they say before he nods.

"And I wouldn't trade you either..."

"... you... you mean it?" Tears slowly well up in their eyes.

"Of course, you've been like... the best person in my life— the love of my life, or just of the past two years I guess, haha... but— you really do mean a lot to me... honest."

Astro's trying not to cry, but seeing Reno look back at them with the sweetest smile made them crack like glass and then, like a water faucet, tears gushed down their cheeks.

"You... okay?" He asked.

"I love you..." They blubbered.

"Oh...! I love you too!" He, with the arm previously by Astro's hips, pulled them closer to him, their cheek right up against his collarbone.

Everything seemed to go as expected, but what he wasn't prepared for, was for Astro's other hand to be brought up and used to bring his face closer to theirs, only to then make way for a soft kiss.

xx


	7. I'll Dance With Ya!

**I'll Dance With Ya!**

 _Synopsis: Astro and Reno have a coffee date. [Adult!AU ft. both Astro and Reno surprisingly able to drive]_

Papers upon papers, tools beside tools, and robot parts strewn about, the lab is a complete mess. But even though Reno knows this, his only response is to sit by the couch and fish for chopsticks to try to eat the leftover ramen from the day before.

There's silence after the record player finishes playing the last song and Reno's momentarily okay with it, letting it serve as a buffer period to think about what he needs to get done before 5, because at 5, he's meeting up with Astro.

...

It's a quarter after five, and Reno's sitting by himself at a 2 seat table all the way in the back of the local coffee shop waiting for Astro. They said they would show up as soon as possible, but now he's doubting their words and letting time go by scrolling through his phone whilst taking small sips from his latte.

Finally, he hears the sound of the storefront door open and perks up. Surely enough, he sees Astro walk in with the widest eyes and most adorable smile, clinging onto their backpack as they look around to perhaps find out where he is.

"Astro!" Reno calls to them.

They catch his voice and with a short exclamation, they happily make their way towards his table and sit on the seat in front.

"Thanks for waiting," they begin, "traffic was a total bitch."

"Oh... was there an accident, or...?"

"No no, everyone was just so slow! I even turned my car off for like a whole two minutes because the wait was so long..."

"Geez," Reno scoffs and gives Astro a look of disgust that they don't respond to.

"So whatcha' drinking? Hazelnut?" They ask.

"Ah, no uh... matcha..."

"Oh really? Sounds interesting– what do you think I should get?"

Reno takes a final sip of his latte, "I... I dunno– whatever you want, I guess."

Astro frowns, "that's not much of a response, but I'll take it," They shrug before standing and walk away to the front counter to order themselves a drink.

Reno's now left alone with his thoughts, or at least until Astro comes back; and while that wouldn't be such a bad thing, it seemed like all they could think about was the pile of work he had back at the lab; all the papers he has to input, the wait list filled to the brim with robots that need to be fixed, and this is just the lab stuff!

Let's not forget the long, strenuous meetings with all the other quote, unquote "smartasses" about god knows what.

Because I mean fuck if he knows, last meeting they talked about how to follow code of ethics, but he swore the meeting before that was a debate on which _Star Wars_ movie was the best.

Just pure, pure nonsense.

But, at least he can confine in his datemate and the ridiculous amount of vinyl records he owns. He doesn't know what he would do without the "pseudo-stoner" vibes that Tame Impala has to offer.

Then again, he has that opinion about virtually everything, so who really knows what he gives a fuck about?

Maybe Astro? That's a bit of a cop-out, but regardless, what for sure isn't something pulled out of someone's ass is the fact that Astro, yes Astro, is making their way back to Reno with their drink in hand and that oh so adorable smile.

Downwards mental spiral avoided!

"Back?" He asks.

"Yeah, I just got a french vanilla, something simple," they sit back down in their chair and scoot it closer to the table.

"Oh, cool," Reno looks back at his phone.

"You know, this place is really nice, and very accessible too– I'm surprised. The Pizza Place down by the corner is a nightmare, way too fucking loud, and the pizza isn't even that great! Tastes like week old DiGiorno..."

"I mean it's probably better than day-old ramen."

"Oh, you're back on that shit again? Reno– you really gotta invest in better food, that's a butt load of sodium."

He chuckles and glances up at them with a smirk, "Your concern is admirable."

Astro sighs, "But I'm being serious! If I have to go over there to that stupid lab and bring you real meals, I'll do it!"

"Uh huh... sureee..."

"What? Are you... apprehensive?"

"Well yeah, I have way too much on my fucking plate to eat a full course meal, you know this!"

Astro snaps their fingers, "damnnit, you might be right for once, shit."

"If you really are concerned though, we should plan more outings together– we could hit up that new Los Ranchos Steakhouse that just opened up over by Eastland and 69th."

"Aw no, sorry, I'm being a nerd and doing the whole 'university' thing, so I'm surprised I even found time to be here..."

"Wow, Definitely Not Captain America is getting their degree, who knew?"

"Oh, well _I_ knew, thanks."

It takes every fiber in Reno's being to not burst into disgusting laughter, "so... so... w...what's... your...mmm...ma...major?"

Astro chuckles, "Reno... are... are you okay... you're trying so hard to not laugh but it just looks like you're gonna faint."

"Nononono! Te...tell...me... your...mm...major... Buddy," He wheezes.

"... Biochemistry..." They sigh.

"Aw... that's... ni...nice... a lot of work though... right?"

"Reno... I haven't seen my bed in days if that's what you mean."

"Oof."

...

"I'm surprised you had no idea, you didn't ever think 'oh I wonder why my datemate hasn't been hitting me up lately' or whatever?"

"To be honest, no. But to be _fair_ , I too am a busy bee because I partake in a thing called a 'job'."

"Oh yeah, and what was the consensus of the last meeting, _Rise of Skywalker_ the best _Star Wars_ film?"

"There actually was another meeting a week after that one, but I don't remember– I do know someone there was a _bit_ too passionate about _The Force Awakens_."

"Well, good enough for me! Not like I give a shit anyways."

"You don't seem to be into a lot of movies, huh?"

"It's _Futurama_ or bust, babey!"

Outside the coffee shop, Astro and Reno walked along the sidewalk hand-in-hand conversing about pretty much anything that was socially acceptable to blab about in public.

"He just doesn't get it though, I tell him one thing, and then he goes off to like I dunno, his 'posse' of sorts, whatever the fuck that means, and he says the complete opposite like a total dbag! Like geez..." They scowl.

"Well _mi amor_ , that's why you don't just say stuff like that, you gotta hold your words secret," He suggests.

"I know but... gah! I'm just annoyed, don't mind me– but... thanks for hearing me out."

"Yeah of course, sounds like therapy has been working out really well for you?"

Astro freezes for a moment, as if they had forgotten basically everything and had to go back and retrieve it all.

"Mmmm...hhhmmm... very well actually! In fact, I'm going back tomorrow at... eight...thirty...? I can't remember," they say.

"Really? That's cool! I'm extremely proud of you," Reno responds.

Astro blushes, "Ohhhh, you're just saying that to flatter me..."

"No no, for real– It takes a lot, you know? And I'm glad you've put in the effort," He glances at them with a smile.

"Yeah... I uh... I think I might be proud of myself too," they pause as they let the words they just spoke sink in.

"H...holy shit..."

...

In a probably unsurprising contrast, Astro's apartment is quite clean. Though it is a little small, at least it's bigger than whatever that lab Reno "calls home" is.

"Jealous, much?" Astro teases from the couch they sat at, stroking a nearby pillow to see if Reno would notice the stark difference in just how clean their apartment is versus his dingy lab.

"Oh no, I've accepted my fate as a lazy ass slob, it's fine," he closes the front door and makes his way towards them.

"Well, I guess it's better to just own it than hate it, right?"

"Yeah," he plops onto the couch, "Very much so."

"So uh... how is work? I know you told me about the whole _Star Wars_ meeting– but I wanna know more! Like... like what's a typical 'Reno as a Junior Robotics Engineer' day like?"

"Hmmm..." He thinks, "I get up... take a shower... eat cereal..."

"Huh... fascinating."

"Mmmhmmm, then I have to go pick up the papers I need to input into the system, or sometimes someone is nice and just drops them off to the lab, either way, I spend like a good hour or two inputting papers, then I stop."

"Oh, how come?"

" _Well_ , I have to open up my lab for robot repairs– a lot of people come to me with broken robots to fix, in fact so many, I had to draft up a waiting list and now even _that's_ filled up..."

"Ah, geez, that's a bit much."

"Well, It's the stupid Ministry's fault because they keep giving me out as recommendation to anyone that needs repairs– but they don't realize that I'm getting overbooked!"

"And you haven't told them anything?"

"We had a meeting three weeks ago about _Star Wars_ , do you think they're gonna take me seriously?!"

"Well, they should! It's your mental health and physical strain on the line– you can't perform at your best if you're constantly stressed out..."

"...true..."

"At the very least, they should let you take sick days off, because then you could somewhat recuperate, right?"

"Mmmm I suppose... I mean it would be nice in general, but..."

"But what?" Astro looks at Reno sternly.

"Uh... I... I don't... I don't know..." he glimpses back at them.

" _Exactly_! You _need_ to let them know! Or at least try."

He looks away for a moment, "Yeah... I um... I'll think about it."

Astro sighs, "This is too depressing yet somehow stale at the same time," they stand, "We need to do something about this, _together_."

"Like?" Reno asks.

"... Huh... I... I didn't think this fully through to keep it 100 with you, sorry."

He stands and laughs, reaching over for Astro's right hand, "It's fine, at least you made an attempt," He gently leads them towards the middle of the living room.

"Oh I know, but... I guess I was just being a bit too cocky and thinking I had a great solution. Turns out I was just psyching myself out, who would've thought?!" They softly chuckle and let Reno wrap his arms around them comfortably.

"I love you," he murmurs.

"I... I know... and I love you too..." they mumble back.

It's times like these that Reno feels grateful to have someone like Astro. Too long had it felt like something was just... _missing_... and he couldn't figure out what.

That is, until Astro entered the picture.

Because yeah, they're best friends, but something about being more than just "besties" with them had it's own feelings of excitment and wonder– I mean the things they could do together!

Or maybe just... the things they usually did– but now they could rub it everyone else's face and say they're doing it "as a couple."

Yeah, that's nice.

What's also nice is looking down to see Astro happily in his arms as if nothing in life could ever be harmful, however that, of course, is a false mentality, and leaving it at that would be best.

He breaks away from the hug though to now be holding both of their hands with a warm smile.

Astro's gotta give themselves a moment to make a decision. They then cordially accept and put their left hand behind his back whilst intertwining their right hand fingers with his left.

"... No music? I'm... surprised..." They utter in a soft voice.

"Nah... this... this is alright."

xx


	8. Maple Syrup

****Maple Syrup****

 _Synopsis: Astro and Reno are going on a long, cross-province road trip. (Also, I've kinda been more interested in writing retro as adults so from now on unless stated otherwise, Astro and Reno are adults)_

The road ahead looks like a 2-lane highway sandwiched between flat planes with virtually no one in sight. They'd been driving around for a while in what seemed to be blaring heat– but in the middle of fall? Regardless, it for the most part... was boring.

Astro flips a page in the book they're reading, focusing on the "alleged" plot of the narrative to make up for the dull ambiance. Reno, on the other hand, has his eyes glued to the roadway in front of him.

So much as he knows it's virtually impossible to get into an accident– especially with no one around– he still finds it crucial to look. Plus, he refuses to give up his "good driver" stance in spite of being far-flung.

Minutes happen to seem like hours in no time with the milieu not changing one bit.

Astro gives up on the book briefly to glance at Reno and speak, "really boring ride, huh?"

"I'll say," he replies.

"How far do you think we even are? Could've sworn we were only 19 kilometers away?"

"Well, we've only been driving for like..." he breaks his stare to peek at the clock, "fifteen minutes."

"Oh really? Feels like... an hour..."

Reno returns to his stare of the road with a lip bite restraining his laughter, "Better get ready for hour 2 in another fifteen minutes then."

Astro softly chuckles and looks out the window to get a good look of the desert environment encircling the two of them. In the middle of the afternoon, the sky is a bright blue with nearly no clouds in sight. The sun gleamingly radiates upon the ground, which for the most part was only asphalt and sand.

Time passes anew, and the car yet again is silent. Wheels against the pavement are drowned out by birds that become the norm for a time, all while there seemed to be no end in sight of the same old same old.

Picking the book back up again, a look of irritation is clearly painted on their face, giving implications that the story wasn't as entertaining as they thought it would be when they selected it from the local bookstore days before the two of them started their obscenely long road trip.

A flip of a page later and nothing seems to be lightening up. They let out a sigh and look back out the window to see if anything has changed– and of course, nothing has.

Maybe if they just reached over and turned on the radio? Then again, they are in practically the middle of nowhere; the chances of even finding an FM station equivalated to a needle in a haystack– or maybe the odds of finding that were considerably higher?

It's hard to keep the irritation hidden in the face of not wanting to push the fault onto Reno. In fact, it became so utterly palpable, that he decided to take matters into his own hands and pullover.

"I can't, you look so unhappy right now. There's gotta be something we can do to fix this..." He states before turning the car off.

Astro, now caught in a whirlwind, stutters, "Um. Well. I... I dunno... what... hmm..."

"Well, we've already pulled over, might as well just take a little break?"

"I mean... I guess... I just– this is a bit excessive for dealing with acute annoyance," they comment, shifting in their seat.

"Oh no no no, this is fine! Don't feel sorry..." Reno unbuckles his seat belt, "We can take all the time we need, there's no rush..."

Astro sighs, but lets him get closer out of pity. They try to look at him with a smile, but all they could feel was the sense of remorse and secondhand awkwardness during the two-minute reticence. He picks up on this though, and meets their expression with a warm smile of his own, reassuring that all was okay.

"It's okay," he says, "we can stop."

"I–I... I know..."

He reaches over and puts a hand on their shoulder, "I'll admit. I'm a little bored too– so you know, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I promise you, I'm not upset."

Everything for them now seems to be under a magnifying glass. The car feels like its thousands of degrees hotter, the pauses in between speaking, a vulnerable minuscule hell. What can they do to stop this?

"H–hey, you know... It–It's fine... y–you don't... have to... d–do this..."

He scoffs, "Gosh, you're really anxious."

"Don't– don't say that, you'll m–make it worse..." they look away.

"Oh, sorry..."

"It's– It's fine..."

Now Reno's wondering if he made the wrong call. I mean all he was trying to do was cheer Astro up– but he guesses it was a bit too abrupt of a decision to make.

"Do you just... wanna keep driving," he asks.

Astro gives it some thought, tapping their fingers against the book to keep themselves focused, "Actually... I... uh... I think I need some fresh air."

They unbuckle their seat belt and get out of the car, leaving Reno all by himself for the time being.

...

Fifteen minutes later, Astro comes back to the car, letting out a final exhale and giving Reno a grin of reassurance.

"I think I just needed a little head space, thanks," they express.

He answers back, "Oh, no problem– It's totally fine."

They gingerly laugh, clicking their seat belt back in, "How much more do we have? 14 kilometers?"

"Mmmm... yeah, I'd say so– give or take..."

"We should probably get going then, we're like... 13 minutes away."

He looks out at the road ahead, and then back at Astro.

"I mean... we're not in a hurry..."

"Oh, what's that supposed to mean? Do you not wanna drive? Because I'll take the driver's seat if you'd like!"

"No no! I just uh... really... wanna... bask in the moment..."

"Huh?"

"You know... when do we ever just end up in like the middle of nowhere with no responsibilities and like... I dunno! Just... nothingness– but in a good way!"

"I think it's for good reason if you ask me," You'd die out here of dehydration in no time."

"Oh, well, when you put it like that, you make it sound scary. But I just want a little break! Just like... two minutes of nada, _¿Tu me entiendes?_ "

"Yeah yeah, I get you..." They reach their hand over for his, "It... it really is nice..."

"You see! Breaks are fun!"

"Okay– you got me. I mean it's not like I wasn't on board– I just think of all places, I never thought we'd take one in the middle of the desert."

Reno chortles, "Then it's official! Two minutes of just... nothing..." he pulls his seat back and leans against it, glaring at the car's ceiling for the time being.

Astro quickly takes note and rushes over with their hand to gently run their fingers through his hair, the smile on his face indicative of his joy.

Stillness isn't an issue now, in fact, it's affectionately welcomed; It lets the two of them take a bit and decompress it all, letting everything go. Even if at this point the sun was blazing down them both, at least it came with charming light that made Reno's face pleasant to look at.

"... I'm really glad we did this..." They mumble.

He turns to face them and beams, "I'm really glad too, I mean when do we ever get to travel cross-province like this? This is like a once-in-a-lifetime ordeal."

"You... you have a point– but I mean... It's... It's a sweet sentiment, so thank you," they sink deeper into their seat with relaxed shoulders and a flaky smile.

xx


End file.
